Illinois surgeon Michael David McKee evaded a medical malpractice lawsuit for years before he allegedly killed his ex-wife and her dentist husband in their Ohio home in December.
McKee, a 39-year-old vascular surgeon, allegedly failed to train a physician’s assistant, leading to a patient being injured during treatment and needing emergency surgery in 2023, according to Las Vegas-based lawyer Dan Laird, according to WSYX on Tuesday.
Laird said he was duped during his two-year pursuit of McKee when the suspected double-murderer’s surgery group allegedly handed out fake addresses and “questionable” state-issued phone numbers.
“Interestingly, the address that was given to us by the surgery group that he worked for turned out to be a fake address,” Laird told the outlet, referencing Las Vegas Surgical Associates LLP. “It was an address that doesn’t exist.”
McKee was named in the medical malpractice suit from a client of the surgical group after a procedure allegedly went wrong, requiring the patient to undergo an emergency surgery, according to KSNV, citing court records.
Laird claimed that McKee failed to train a physician’s assistant, which led to the patient’s injury.
McKee held a medical license in Nevada for just over two years before it expired last June — six months before he allegedly killed his ex-wife, Monique Tepe and her husband, Spencer.
The Nevada lawyer was mystified over McKee’s disappearance, claiming it was not normal for doctors to vanish.
“They tend to be highly responsible people,” he told WSYX. “They’re not the kind of people who just disappeared suddenly, and this was very surprising to us.”
In October, Laird reached out to McKee’s colleagues, including Dr. Peter Caravella, who was named alongside the surgeon in the lawsuit, during his search for the missing doctors just months before the gruesome murders
“He said he has no idea where Dr. Michael McKee is now,” Laird recalled. “He just disappeared.”
A judge sided with Laird and granted a declaration of due diligence, which allowed McKee to be notified of the lawsuit by a newspaper notice.
The newspaper notice, a rare type of lawsuit serving, is granted when a defendant “has departed from the state, or cannot, after due diligence, be found within the state or conceals himself to avoid being served,” according to Clark County Legal News.
More coverage on the deaths of the slain Ohio dentist and his wife
- Michael McKee will be extradited to Ohio to face charges for grisly murder of dentist, wife
- Michael McKee hit with upgraded murder charges hours before court appearance for grisly slayings of Ohio dentist, wife
- Family of murdered Ohio dentist, wife ‘all expected’ ex-husband Michael McKee’s arrest: report
- The big mistake that got Michael McKee arrested in murders of his ex Monique Tepe and dentist husband
- Ex-husband arrested in heinous double murder of slain Ohio dentist, wife
McKee is facing two counts of aggravated murder for the Dec. 30 fatal shootings of the Tepes.
The couple was discovered in their Columbus, Ohio home and is believed to have died between 2 and 5 a.m.
McKee, who was married to Monique for two-years before their divorce in 2017, was arrested in Rockford, Illinois.
He attended the Ohio State University, graduating from the College of Medicine and obtained his medical license in the state in 2014 at the age of 28, according to USA Today.
After his divorce he obtained his medical license in Virginia where he completed his residency at Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic.
He then obtained his licenses in three states, Caifornia, Maryland and Nevada by 2023.
McKee was later given his Illinois medical license in 2024.
He was employed by OSF Saint Anthony in Rockford when he allegedly trekked over 300 miles to Ohio to carryout the heinous killings.
“OSF is cooperating with authorities who will provide further information,” a spokesperson for the faith-based Catholic practice said in a statement to The Post Tuesday night.
The medical group did not confirm whether the suspected gunman was still employed — but no doctor profile for him appears on its website.
Spencer and Monique Tepe were killed just shy of their five-year anniversary.
If found guilty, McKee could now face a maximum sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole.
He could be handed the death penalty under the aggravated murder charges, although Ohio hasn’t executed an inmate since 2018.
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